Tool - 10 000 Days

I don't often review things other than blues, jazz and world music here, but that's only a facet of my musical tastes. So for a change, here's a review of a progressive metal album by Tool. I bought this more or less on a whim, after having read a few words about Tool's style and influences. 10 000 days is an odd object, a booklet with integrated 3D goggles and psychedelic drawings supposed to come to life when watched through the goggles. Since I have no sight from my right eye, I can't say that I spent too much time on the packaging.

The music, however, I found really interesting. This is heavy, powerful stuff, much more so than the classics of rock I regularly enjoy like Black Sabbath or AC/DC. I love Tool's sound: it's dry and sharp yet greasy with distorsion.  The thing I was slightly worried about was the singing, since modern metal tends not to know singing, only growling or yelling. But vocalist Maynard James Keenan has a melodious - if veiled - voice, and does not overdo it in the yelling department. The rest of the team is the classic guitar, bass and drums line-up, with more than a little studio work adding other instruments, texture, layered guitar parts, etc.

Beyond the instrumentation, however, what's interesting in 10 000 days is the writing. Tool's songs are long and complex, and in this a pure heritage of the 70s progressive rock I like so much. Odd time signatures, changes in rhythm and mood, varying intensities, even unusual instruments are all featured in this album. The intro to opening track Vicarious is quite moody, until the drum and bass kick in on a very heavy riff over an odd time signature (I'm not good enough a musician to tell you what it is) and it's quite representative of the approach. The lyrics are somber, in line with the overall mood of the album. The faster paced Jambi follows, alternating loud and heavy parts with more introspective sections (complete with little Pink Floyd-esque hommage riffs).

The piece of resistance, however, is the two parter Wings for Marie, a near 20 minutes epic song with religious undertones (I can't quite figure if it's a remission piece on Lucifer and where Marie comes into it, but in any case it's very evocative). In this central piece, all the elements that make the rest of the album are apparent: the alternating moods and rhythms, the construction, the somberness, etc. Very cool stuff.

I'm told that Tool's previous album Lateralus is even better, I'll be hunting that one down now. In the meantime, I'm pretty happy with that trial. I really enjoyed King Crimson's The Power to Believe which had a similar soundscape, and I'm pleased have discovered something similar yet different. If you like prog rock and/or metal, you should be more than pleased with this.

Comments

[RED Music]

If you are a fan of Maynard James Keennan (tool/a perfect circle), make sure to check out Puscifer, Maynard's side project out Oct. 30th thru RED Artist Development.

Here are a few teasers for the upcoming album!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsnLm4zuhok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNSxGftZixE